A Detailed Fasting and Prayer Guide

What does fasting mean?

What is fasting?

Fasting is going without. This may be in relation to food or some other necessity or luxury. It is a common part of religion. The Christian faith holds prayer and fasting as key factors of a “healthy” relationship with God.

Today, fasting and prayer are somewhat ritualistic. In some charismatic circles, fasting is done at the start of each year without fail. Some wonderful ministries that I know of fast for the first 21 days of the year. All this is admirable. I do question, whether the essence of the fasting and prayer trickle down from the leadership to the congregation members and others who just fill the pews.

Nothing we do for the Lord, our God should become ritualistic, just one other thing we need to tick off the list. Rituals tend to lose the heart that is meant to be behind what you are doing. What does fasting in the bible look like?

Hosea 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

The verse above is a great example of how easily believers tend to replace the desires of God with rituals. God desires sacrifice, but not at the expense of mercy. He desires burnt offerings, but not at the expense of knowledge of him. What is your fasting coming as a replacement of? It is common for modern day churches to be dens of thieves, as long as they are generous to the ministry.

Is that true fasting? You will recall that; reflection and self-examination are key components of this prayer course. Perhaps the best part to start would be identifying why it is that we fast.

WHY DO WE FAST?

The heart behind fasting is subduing one’s physical needs so that the spirit may be amplified. This is what feeds the power of prayer. Rich or poor, most of us are defined by our means. We are defined by the food that we eat, the places that we go to and the sort of people that we keep around us. The heart of fasting is casting these aside and focusing on the Lord, God.

Matthew 17:21

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

The scripture above speaks of things that cannot be overcome by prayer alone, but by prayer coupled with fasting. Even Jesus’ ministry was preceded by time in the wilderness, a time of fasting and prayer. It was preceded by a time where he would be tempted on a weakness that his sacrifice in fasting had created.

Fasting exposes ills in you. There is a constant tug between body and spirit, fasting strengthens the spirit man and subsides the body. It is better to be a man who has dominion over his own body than one that rules over nations. Fasting and prayer join these powers together. Without prayer, fasting is a hunger strike. Today

If you consider that the body is temporary, while the spirit is eternal, you will make sense of why it is important to build longevity in spirit. Fasting builds that longevity in spirit. Fasting lends power to prayer.

It is difficult to stay in tune with the Lord as well as to hear his voice above the noises of this world. The essence of fasting is, shutting out the world’s noises that you may hear from the Lord. You will not that fasting was often done in the wilderness. This would have been a way of physically separating oneself from all the day’s hassle. We are to find time to pull away, into that secret place of prayer.

As a carpenter, I imagine, Jesus would have had some clients coming over to place orders, his mother would have needed a hand with something, but be withdrew himself from all of this, so he could be with the FATHER. Are you making time to withdraw yourself from everyday mundane, that you may be with the father? Do you allow time for prayer? I say, allow, but more like “mandate!” Such is the need for prayer. This is more so when you are going through a fast.

The Lord is more concerned with the heart behind the actions, than the actions behind the heart. Actions can be faked, or done out of the wrong motive, but the heart tells all. If your heart is not in this fasting, there is no point doing it at all, really. Your time should rather be invested in prayer for the state of your heart.

Contemporary view of fasting and prayer

Like most Christian things nowadays, the essence of fasting has been somewhat lost in believers’ goal to make it more mainstream. Although there are many factors behind this, one of the main attributes of this is the financial incentive that comes from filling our pews.

If the people we want to bring in do not agree with some of the things that we don’t think are necessarily key to our faith, we start to compromise these things. This is what has in some ways happened to fasting. We are building comforts within our fast, so as to accommodate all. Is this the loss of the essence of fasting? Are the results worth it?

We have also become so caught up in names and types of fasting. The driving factor in most of the new variants is our desire to appease God while maintaining our comfort. There is a lack of the desire to sacrifice, which is the heart behind fasting.

You and I must not become too focused on ticking this ritualistic box, lest we lose the value and essence of fasting. Outside of sacrifice, there is no true fasting.

Types of fasting

Most fasting is governed by the duration that one would go without. These will range from:

6am till 6pm fasting (going without food between those hours).

3 Day fast (going for 72 hours without).

7 Day fast (gong for 162 hours without).

Biblical fasts noted Jesus as having fasted for 40 days. Other fasts recorded include queen Esther’s fast for the lives of her people, the fasts of several prophets. The common factor in these is sacrifice. A fast void of the sacrificial factor is not a fast at all. It doesn’t matter how long you do it for, sacrifice is key.

Current medical advice is that one should not go without water for over 7 days. It is possible to go without food longer.

Again, if we are getting stuck on food, we are missing the point. Isaiah makes it clear what true fasting is.

Isaiah 58:3-4

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.4 Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Fasting Types:

Dry Fasting/Full Fast

A full fast is one where you go for a certain number of days with no food and drink.

Semi-dry fast

A semi dry fast is when you go for a certain number of day without food, but with liquids. It is certainly more physically sustainable than a dry fast for prolonged periods of fasting.

Daniel’s Fast

This was established when Daniel didn’t want to eat the royal food served in the palace. As a compromise with the caretaker, he would only eat fruit and vegetables, but no meat. Presumably, he would also drink liquids.

It is also later recorded where Daniel spent 3 weeks fasting. He avoided luxury.

Daniel 10:2-3,

Partial Fast

A partial fast is one that does not span an entire day. It may be fasting from sunrise to sunset.

Corporate Fasting

This is where a group of people collectively go without food for a common cause or need that they are believing God for.

1 Samuel 7

The scripture above explains exactly why some periods of “so called” fasting bear no results. Why are some periods of fasting and humility in seeking God not met with any results? Our relationships with other people are a key component of any fasting. True fasting starts in your own homes, in the workplace and every other place that you spend time. Often, people will fast and pursue God while they are simultaneous ill-treating others.

Matthew 5:23-24

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Scripture tells us that we cannot say we love God while we hate our brother. True fasting is a ministry of reconciliation. There is no point in fasting to make up with God while you are holding your loved ones at bay. There ought not be strife. Verse 4 of Isaiah 58, as shown above states “You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.”

Consider your fasting for a moment. Remember, a key part of this prayer course is self-evaluation and reflection. It is very rare that anyone will tell you a deeper truth that you can tell yourself. At times, you must look in the mirror and show yourself where you are slacking.

I believe that this is one of the key reasons why miracles are drying up in the Western world as they grow in the east. We have become so consumed with patriotism that we begin to hate our brothers and sisters from different races, faiths, denominations and so on; yet we still go before God in the name of fasting. How can we say we love God, and hate our brother? Cleaning our heads, hands and hearts is important for true fasting.

Isaiah 58:6-14

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honourable,
and if you honour it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Fasting is casting our own ways away that we may walk in Christ, we walk like Christ in his fullness. Is your walk mirroring Christ at every turn? Fasting is taking time out to be intentional about our father’s business. Where you see yokes, you are going after them, to break them. Fasting is seeking out the broken that you may extend the hand of the Lord.

You are a carrier of grace, are you walking and imparting it as you go? Wherever Jesus went, the presence of the Lord was encountered. That is a sign of fasting, becoming Jesus to the least among us. That food you are not eating today, take it and give it to the needy. Fasting is practical, as described above by the prophet Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah goes on to speak of the results that we are to expect from true fasting. Is it not time you and I began to truly fast?

Fasting has often been associated with the wilderness. This is where Jesus went off to be with God in fasting and prayer. This is where the prophet Elijah went, and more and more have done the same. What does the wilderness look like for you and I today? Today the wilderness is stepping out of routine that we may have become comfort and stuck in. The wilderness is shaking off our feet that have become stuck in the mud. We are called to be movers and shakers!

Prayer plays a massive role in a fast. When you pray you are not alone, you lean on the Lord. Prayer allows us to allow God to communicate to and through us as we fast. In solitude, as the prophets of old and Christ did, prayer gives the Holy Spirit a channel to use us to intercede in matter that we know not of. Like communication is to a marriage, prayer is indispensable to the Christian walk. It grants us an honest, open and direct platform to speak with God.

Fasting is often done with a result in mind. Through prayer, we present this result to God. Only through prayer can our fasting be committed to the maker of heaven and earth. The bible recounts several sacrifices. They were all punctuated by prayer. The showdown on mount camel was punctuated by prayer! God responded with consuming fire! Prayer is key to fasting.

Daniel’s Fast

Daniel 1:8

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

No disrespect to anyone, but Daniel’s fast should be viewed within the context in which it was done. Daniel fasted, by his refusal to defile himself. This was a move of obedience. Today, we have picked this as the “fast” of choice because it is easier on the body than a dry fast.

We are a people after comfort, while trying to please a God who is after obedience and sacrifice. It worries me that we now have recipes for “Daniel’s fast”, adding pleasure to an act of sacrifice. Before we dive behind “grace”, let us never forget that grace does not take away the need for sacrifice and obedience.

Everything you do for the Lord should be viewed in the context of your heart’s condition in doing it, as well as what it costs you. King David would refuse to give God gifts that were of no cost to him. What is the cost of your gift to God?

I charge you, step out into true fasting!

Things to reconsider:

The cost of your gift.

Reconcile with your people.

Step out.

Find your wilderness.

Forget comfort.

Dont make it about food.

Examples of fasting in the bible

There are a lot of examples of fasting in the bible. Here are a few:

Jesus fasting:

Before he was to embarked on his 3 years in ministry, Jesus took time away. He spent this time alone with God, fasting and praying! Jesus fasted! The son of God, who was God himself, fasted. We know that he spent 40 days and 40 nights alone fasting and praying in preparation for what was to come. We understand that at the end of this period, at a point of weakness, when all bodily strength was drained, the devil pounced. Jesus was filled in spirit, though hungry in flesh. He resisted temptation and the devil fled!

Matthew 4:1-11 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

David Fasting:

The back story for this one is more theatrical. King David had lusted after the soldier, Uriah’s wife. He had then gotten taken Uriah’s wife to be his own. She had then become pregnant. The scripture below recounts the encounter between David and the prophet Nathan, who comes to confront him!

David repented and fasted in hopes that the Lord would preserve his child with Uriah’s wife.

2 Samuel 12

15After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth b on the ground. 17The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

18On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

19David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

20Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

21His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

22He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.

Samuel Fasting

Samuel fasted at a time of war, asking that the Lord would intervene on behalf of Israel, as they had become hard pressed at war. The fasting was corporately done. All Israel came together at Mizpah to fast and intercede. They fasted and confessed their sins.

1 Samuel 7:

5 Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.” 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Now Samuel was serving as leader[a] of Israel at Mizpah.

Elijah Fasting

Elijah was a prophet at a very difficult time. He had his last meal before going to meet with God on mount Horeb. Like, Jesus, Elijah went without food. It was a bold statement to self, saying “God is my rock!” The same God that would soon answer by fire at the showdown with the prophets of Baal.

1 Kings 19:8

And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

How to Meditate on his word

Do you Meditate on his word? Today more and more people in the western part of the world are involved in meditation than ever before. This is in one of its many forms, rooted in the eastern part of the world. This is a practice that has long been prescribed by the Lord God himself. In Joshua 1:8, it is instructive, from the mouth of the Lord himself.

In Psalm 1:2, it is prescriptive. They share an agreement that, there is a blessing upon those who meditate on the Lord’s law, which is his word. The goal of any believer must be to become one with the word of God. It should influence our thoughts and guide our actions as well.

There are many methods that could be used when it comes to how one may go about meditating on the word of God. David said that he had hidden it in his heart, Psalm 119: 11, I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Considering that David was not a perfect man and that he did sin, there is something to be learned about hiding the word in one’s heart.

When it is in your heart, it becomes a part of you. The only danger in this, is the lack of reflection that meditation offers. The key word being “day and night”. The human mind and psyche are sponge-like in many senses. The most well-mannered man will find himself letting a foul word or two out of his mouth if he spends enough time around foul mouthed individuals.

Meditation is an active process. It is continuing to mull on the word, even when you know it. It is in doing this that we begin to reflect this lamp onto parts of our lives that have long been hidden.

Communal meditating

As much as one’s walk with Christ is an individualistic goal, there is a need for community to be tied to it. This allows for support in your times of need, as well as for you to also support others when they need it. We are never told of Peter’s prayers when he was in prison, it is the prayers of his colleagues that we read about. It is those prayers that brought him out of prison. There is value in community. The bible says to not forsake the gathering of the saints.

Most churches have some sort of mid-week meeting. This is the sort of place where communal meditation takes places. It is a place where the word of God is shared, discussed and considered. The part of meditation in this is finding application for the word that we have discussed. Joshua says, “it should not depart from your mouth”. The normal being mentally processes things before they are to be vocalised. That mental processing is a part of meditating.

When done within a community, you have walls to bounce your thoughts off. It isn’t always about having people who agree with your interpretation, rather those who share alternative views. I believe it is in communal meditation that the Holy Spirit was first poured unto the disciples. As they were gathered in one place, with a shared accord, the spirit of the Lord descended on them. To use a church cliché, “They were never the same again.”

Psalm 133 tells us how God adores the presence of unity among his people. It is there that he commands his blessing. If we cannot be united by meditating on the wonderful word of the Lord, I do not know what else could bring believers together.

Sitting at the Lord’s feet

We were recently engaged in a lovely discussion about this with a good friend and a brother in Christ.

Luke 10:38

She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to His message. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!”

Day to day ministry demands efficiency, planning and meetings with fellow man. All of these are key to making sure that the work of the Lord is carried out well. Unfortunately, we often become carried by our tasks that we neglect the essential presence of the Lord. I love how the scripture accurately describes the tasks that Martha was engaged in as “distractions”.

It is very easy to begin to find your worth in ticking down tasks on your ToDo list. Many a gifted minister has become comfortable and even finding validation in the blessing that their gifts are to the body of Christ. This is why gifted prophets and others whose walk is often followed by miracles will veer out of the right path and have no one to correct them.

The body of Christ is after the gifts that we easily miss the void that they become in the absence of Christ. We are told that some will come and ask the Lord why he hasn’t accepted them into his presence when their walk on earth was characterised by signs and wonders in his name. Yet he will rebuke them, “Get away you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”

Cast tasks aside that your eyes may always remain fixed on whom you are doing these things for and through. Lord forbid that prayer warriors would neglect meetings with God to have more meetings with fellow men. The power that is exhibited in public should be backed by what has been and continues to be done in private.

In verse 41 of the scripture above, Jesus makes a very bold statement, “Only one thing is necessary!”

This is not to say that we must neglect the good things we do in his name, but without a foundation being set in time spent at his feet, we are building in vain. God forbid that we would labour in vain, only to please men and ourselves, but have it fall flat in the Lord’s eyes.

Abide in him

John 15:7

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[a] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

This is an essential building block to prayer life. Abiding in him. Every prayer warrior should actively pursue oneness with Christ. Get to a place where you walk in his will and actively seek to correct your ways when you step out of his will. When you abide in Christ, you can no longer be comfortable in your sin, even when it may be brushed aside or accepted by leaders and Christian comrades.

Christ himself becomes your standard, not what is acceptable in church eyes.

Proverbs 25:2

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Abide in him, sit at his feet, search his heart. May concealed matters be revealed.

DEFINING PRAYER

Of all our module titles, this one doesn’t sit too well. How can one fully define something as amazing as prayer? Prayer is simple as a concept but rather complex in practice. It is the one area of ministry that no one can police you. Deep down we are all a people who appreciate human appreciation and approval. A well decorated church will get complimented on its look. A great praise and worship leader will be complimented on his/her gift, and perhaps even invited in sing at events.

Prayer warriors get none of this glory, yet their work is the most critical. Just let that sit in your spirit for a second. In truth, a “Well done” on earth is one less from heaven. Prayer meetings are still some of the least attended events in most churches across the world. There is no glitz and glamour in prayer. Prayer is just work. It’s effort. It is tiring, and can often be frustrating for the unseasoned intercessor.

At the core of it prayer is warfare. You are making a stand for God’s kingdom to come on this earth and his will to be done in the lives of his people. You are making a stand against plots and efforts of the devil and his cohorts. You don’t see it in the physical, but your prayer cause a shift in the realms of the spirit. Something begins to happen when you pray.

Daniel 9:23

The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.

Daniel continued to press in for a response for his prayer, yet the bible shows us that the Lord had long released the answer that Daniel had requested. It was the continual pressing of Daniel that caused the Lord to command his angel to see what was going on. There are situations that we remain in that have long been resolved in heaven. Our giving up on earth before the response has become manifest means the results may never come to pass.

Is your view of Christ clear?

The role of intercessors is that of stepping in where everyone else has given up or turned away. We can be overly simplistic about prayer, but the Lord says he is after those who will pray in “Spirit and in Truth”. We live in a “politically correct” world, where truth is subjective. The Lord’s truth is universal. Are you and I still seeking that truth?

The greatest problem with a lot of learned men and esteemed theologians going as far back as Jesus’ time, is thinking that they have arrived. Thinking that they have figured this thing out. It is the learned scholars that would miss the Messiah’s coming because they believed they knew it all. Prayer strips you of all that false self-awareness and esteem.

A know it all, Saul, spent a long time diligently persecuting the God whom he thought his persecuting actions were in service of. Ponder on that for a moment. For it is not at Act 9:4 when the Lord asks, “Why do you persecute me”, that Saul was transformed. There were scales that had to fall out of his eyes. What are some scales that may be hindering your view of Christ? What are some scales that may be giving you a false view of who God is?

In this age of spiritual fathers and spiritual children, we must always ask ourselves if we can still see the cross from behind these men and women that we stand. Or are you beginning to mistake them for Christ? Think about it.

At its very core, prayer is self-searching, and not self-serving. It is reflective, it seeks to grow. Are you still actively seeking growth in the Lord? Don’t get comfortable, because the disciples were comfortable. Don’t let your moment of exposure become a moment of reckoning. Peter didn’t know himself enough to realise that he could deny the man he often vowed he could die with or for.

Luke 8:8

8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

This is a question that we often reflect on as a team. The answer however, lays within each one of us. We decide if the son of man finds faith on earth, with our actions on a day to day basis. Prayer is bridging the gap between a faithless generation and a God who seeks faith. Is this something that you are actively vested in? We are all called to pray that HIS kingdom would come.

There are numerous versions of prayer that are seen and demonstrated in scripture. They all share one key ingredient, which is the HEART behind it all. The true openness of sharing everything with Christ. Is your heart in your prayers? It is pointless to simply go through the motions and hope for the best.

Testimony

Revelation 12:12

They triumphed over him bythe blood ofthe Lamb and bythe wordoftheir testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

This is one of our favourite scriptures as a ministry. You see, testimonies are a two-way street. The bible is filled with people’s testimony of Christ and all the other awesome things that the Lord has done. Our day to day lives are filled with these too.

The apostle Paul put it best, we called to be living epistles. Your life is a moving testimony, a testament of who God is, or at least that is what it is supposed to be. I would go as far as to say that testimony is a form of prayer. When you showcase the work of God in your life, that is prayer. As we have already received the blood of the lamb, the word of our testimony is the missing link in our journey to living as overcomers.

Others hear it (faith comes)

Your testimony is a gift to others. When they hear it, their faith is strengthened. They are reminded of who God is. They are reminded or made aware of what the Lord is capable of. Their faith is built, and you are a part of that. May the Lord fill your mouths with testimonies, in Jesus’ name. Become more vocal in sharing these. It is not bragging, you are bragging on God, not yourself.

You hear it (reinforced)

Your testimony is also a gift to yourself. It is one that affirms your faith. As you share it, it reminds you as well, who God is to you, and what he can and has done for you. Wont he do it again?

The enemy hears it!

Martin Luther is known to have prayed loudly, wanted the devil and his cohorts to hear him. When you share your testimony, it puts the devil’s defeat in your case into the open. It encourages others who are under his hold to push further in faith and in prayer. There are people who have been in the dark for so long that they can no longer dare to imagine the light, your testimony becomes that sound that the deaf hear.

Blind Bathemeus could not have seen Jesus, he was blind after all. It was the sharing of testimonies and all the wonders that Jesus was doing, that aroused something inside of him. Let your testimony arouse faith inside someone today, in Jesus’ name.